Pikmin 3 prerelease information

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Pikmin 3, like other games, went through several iterations that never made it to the public. Some of these had content that was changed or removed before the final release. Because the exact versions in which these tidbits appear is not known, their name is not given here, but fans usually call these "beta", "alpha", or "pre-alpha" versions.

There was one character that never made it into the game in any footage whatsoever, and was scrapped early in development. He was shown off at E3 2012 in a bit of concept art, and all that was underneath him was the letter "D". With an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto[source needed], he stated that there were three leaders playable in the game, suggesting Character D was scrapped early on, since he was never shown in any footage. Since Alph, Brittany, and Charlie all had the first letter of their name under their art at E3 2012, it is speculated by fans that the character's final name was meant to be Drake, but this name was eventually moved to the game's ship, the S.S. Drake. A possible reason for the scrap could've been due to the fact that controlling and switching between four leaders would have been considered too chaotic.

In a prototype version, Brittany's suit was yellow, both in-game and on concept art. In the final version, her suit was changed to pink. Her original concept art also lacked glasses, which she has in the final game.

In the earliest footage shown of Pikmin 3, Rock Pikmin had a slightly different appearance, with slightly darker coloration and dark-colored limbs. They also made different sounds that sounded like lower-pitched versions of common Pikmin sounds. Each Rock Pikmin was also shaped slightly differently (e.g. some were shorter but wider). This made them seem more like real rocks, but the feature was eventually removed in the final game. Also something to note, Rock Pikmin in the E3 demo have blue bulbs on their heads, instead of purple like the final game. Winged Pikmin also have blue flowers, as seen on the E3 presentation.

There are unused files inside the game for a handful of enemies, both new and returning. These got removed for reasons unknown. Many of these, such as returning enemies from [[Pikmin 2] are heavily unfinished and some do not even spawn.

An unknown purple and yellow leech-like enemy. It does not hurt Pikmin, but it will burrow underground when a Pikmin or a leader approaches.

A version of the Wollywog with a crystal on its stomach. It is possible that it would've stomped with its crystal, and only Rock Pikmin could destroy it.

A version of the Beady Long Legs with its round head replaced with a foot. It likely would've stomped with its head as well.

A version of the Male Sheargrub that is rounder. It has bright orange "armor" and its behavior is not finished.

In an early build of the game, the lock-on feature would cause the camera to enter a tilt-shift mode to focus only on the creature, which would be highlighted in blue. The name of said creature was then displayed in simple blue text above it. This was greatly changed for the final game, in which the scene is covered by a vignette effect, and the name is displayed in a box in the lower right corner, surrounded by Koppaite text. With the update released on May 29th, 2014, the lock-on mechanic featured two new images on the left side of the screen. One shows which control makes the Pikmin charge, and the other shows how to cancel the lock-on.

Originally, the whistle in Pikmin 3 had a smaller radius than in the past two games, and lasted for a shorter length of time. This was later changed to be slightly larger and longer, and included the ability for the whistle to call Winged Pikmin by raising off the floor after fully expanding to create a cylindrical beam of light.

In the early footage shown of the game, the leaders were first shown to have the ability to toss one another to access new locations. At this point in development, the leaders were thrown much higher than they are in the final game. This change was most likely made to rid the game of some areas where players could easily break the barriers.

In the 2012 demo of Pikmin 3, the Insect Condo was shown as one of the fruits returning from Pikmin 2. In this footage, it required only 8 Pikmin to carry it, as opposed to the 10 required in the final game.

In the E3 2012 demo, the Medusal Slurker required 7 Pikmin to carry, while in the final game, it can be carried by 6.

In the E3 2012 demo, the Whiptongue Bulborb required 10 Pikmin to carry, while in the final game, it needs 12 Pikmin.

According to the Koppaite text visible when the Formidable Oak is highlighted, its name is patterned after The Final Trial. However, the two names are not similar in the slightest, nor are their Japanese names – the Formidable Oak is 哀しき獣の塔? (lit.: "Tower of the Sorrowful Beast"), and The Final Trial is 最後の試練? (lit.: "Final Trial"). This indicates that, earlier in development, the Formidable Oak had a different English and/or Japanese name.

In an early screenshot, the KopPad can be seen in a video call. Its frame is visible, and the Koppaite text on it spells out

("PPAD"). For the final game, the frame was changed to say

("GPAD") instead, which is the KopPad's Japanese name. In addition, the Koppaite text on the final game's lock-on mode contains the sentence "Simple dictionary in the PIPAD". This could also be an early name for the KopPad, or just a Romanization of "PPAD".

One early screenshot of the game shows the snow pile with an iron ball that resembles the President. On top of this pile lies a Cupid's Grenade that is not in this location in the final game. It is likely that the Cupid's Grenade behind the sculpture is where this one was moved, as it is the closest to the earlier location.

The idea for a different end of day theme depending on how profitable the day was, like in Pikmin 2, might have been considered, seeing as how there are unused files for a "happy" and a "sad" version of the Pikmin 3 song.

In an early version of the title screen, the logo contained a "3" made of violet flowers, to resemble the flowers of the Rock and Winged Pikmin. In the final game, these flowers were changed to orange, possibly to represent ultra-spicy spray. In addition, the earliest footage of the game showed that it was originally much dimmer than the final version, although this was possibly due to the fact that the lighting engine wasn't complete at the time it was shown.

In the Nintendo Direct on May 17th, 2013, the juice counter was seen for the first time. However, unlike the final version, which has an orange colored juice in the bottle, this version has a silver colored juice.

In the May 17th, 2013 Nintendo Direct, the pause menu was shown. The last option says "To Ship's Log", which was later changed to "To Earlier Day" in the final game. In addition, the menu received some minor appearance tweaks, mostly on the " Back" label.

In the first trailer of Pikmin 3, it's possible to see the early design used for the Mission Mode timer. The figures used for it look a bit different and they are in a blue rectangle, in the final version.

It's possible to see a previous version of the Collect Treasure! counter in the E3 2012 trailer of Pikmin 3. The design of the medals and figures look a bit different from that of the final version.

In the E3 2012 trailer, it's possible to see an early version of the Pikmin counter.

In E3 2012 images that contain the radar, it is possible to see that the colors of the terrain are much less saturated and harder to tell apart.

The juice counter in an early version.

The juice counter in the final game.

The pause menu in an early version.

The pause menu in the final game.

A screenshot showing the timer used in a previous version of Pikmin 3.

The radar in the final version of the game. The terrain colors are more vibrant.

There is also gameplay of an unknown build of the game that takes place in Tropical Forest, but the HUD's positioning is different from anything in the final game or other demos of Pikmin 3. Particularly: the health meter for the current leader is next to the left edge of the screen, a bit above the center, and the Pikmin counter is at the bottom of the screen, centered horizontally. There is one recorded image of the gameplay, but it's not clear if this is single-player gameplay, or if it is the left screen in co-op mode.

Locking-on to the Face Wrinkler in a version of the game with a different Mission Mode HUD.